Brutal lot at the beginning of the league. How do the Rogues deal with it?
Slavia Prague, Slovácko, Pilsen. These opponents will run out in the opening three rounds against the football players from Královéhradek.
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A GIANT FOR THE INTRODUCTION. Votroci (in white) will enter the top competition with Sunday’s duel with Slavia.
| Photo: fchk.cz
Three times 1:1 (at home with Bohemians Praha, in Karviná and at home with Liberec), that was the start of last year’s FORTUNA:LIGA by FC Hradec Králové footballers. The rookie at the time dazzled in his game, but in terms of points it was still not enough.
This year, in the second second among the elite, the situation is somewhat different. The invaders have practically the toughest possible opponents in the first three rounds. At home Slavia Prague, at Slovácko and at home Pilsen. That’s a brutal lot to start with.
This year, the three points gained would be very useful and it would definitely be evaluated in a completely different way than it was a year ago.
HARD START
1. round: FC Hradec Králové – Slavia Prague (July 31, 4 p.m.)
2nd round: Slovácko – FC Hradec Králové (August 7, 4 p.m.)
3rd round: FC Hradec Králové – Pilsen (August 13 or 14)
“The draw is difficult, that’s a reality,” said head coach Miroslav Koubek at Tuesday’s press conference. “Someone just stupidly raffled it to us,” he added with a smile.
Who will say that Hradec’s season only starts from the fourth match. Well, yes, but if you went into it with zero in the point gain column, you probably wouldn’t be overconfident.
“We will deal with it somehow,” says the coach about the difficult start to the new league season.
On the other hand, why wouldn’t Hradečtí be able to reverse one of the favorites. They did it twice last year. They beat Plzeň 1:0 in the Mladá Boleslav asylum, scalped Slavia 4:3 in a breathtaking match and managed to draw 1:1 at Sparta.
Votroci achieved a good reputation in the rookie class, and the sixth place is proof of that. If they continued to play the football they practiced under coach Koubek, why couldn’t they cause some surprises at the beginning of this season?